Six Degrees of Separation

It's 8:06...I'm watching the news and trying to figure out my plan for today. My mom arrived yesterday from Kansas City for a little visit- actually a big visit; she'll be here through Tuesday and today I am going to take her into the city for her very first glimpse of Michigan Avenue!

But first, I have to tell you about the gift she brought me, it has quite a story with it and a little bit of mystery! She gave me this beautiful gold plated cuff bracelet that has been in the family for awhile, but which originally came from Edward Trelawny who was an English author and adventurer who was close friends with Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley. And of course most of you know that Mary Shelley is the one who wrote Frankenstein.

Well, Trelawny gave this bracelet to Mary who then passed it on to we think a daughter-in-law, who then gave it to a woman named Pamela Redmayne who was good friends with my great grandparents on my mother's side. Pamela gave it to my great grandfather in England to give to his wife- who then passed it on to her daughter (which is my grandmother) who then gave it to my mother, who just gave it to me!

It's beautiful. I feel like I step back to the 1820's every time I put it on. The mystery is that we don't know why Trelawny gave Mary the bracelet. I've been researching quite a bit only to find out that they were close friends who wrote letters to each other a lot and that he gave her a half serious marriage proposal at some point which she refused, but that's all the info I've gathered. So I'm on a mission. It would be great to actually verify that this is where the bracelet truly originated.

In the meantime, it's a fabulous story, isn't it? To think that the bracelet on my wrist once graced the wrist of Mary Shelley....It's quite a thrill.

-listening to Night and Day by Frank Sinatra